Elder Care Decisions

Moving an aging parent into assisted living or a nursing home is a physically and emotionally challenging transition for the whole family. Use compassion and self-awareness to keep your feelings in check and support your loved one throughout this process.

As a caregiver, you may wonder if it’s time to add a geriatrician to an aging loved one’s care team. Any senior can benefit from a geriatric physician, but this decision depends on an elder’s unique healthcare needs.

When an elderly loved one winds up in the hospital, things happen so quickly that it can leave family members overwhelmed by their new roles as advocates and caregivers. Take these 7 steps to quickly get organized and better manage their care.

The task of getting an elderly relative out of a cluttered, filthy, unsafe home is never easy. Here are some tips for caregivers and family to make the process more successful.

Placing a senior in a nursing home can feel like a monumental failure, but this isn’t the case. Adjusting your attitude can help you realize that you are actually fulfilling the underlying commitment you made to your loved one.

The growing trend of seniors moving closer to family seems like a viable solution to the challenges of long-distance caregiving, but there are drawbacks involved. How do you know if you are making the right decision?

Both local and long-distance caregivers should learn the overt and subtle signs of mistreatment of the elderly and check for them regularly—ideally in person.

Even if you live hundreds of miles away, you can still help your elderly parents with their medical care. Healthcare experts recommend that you start by learning as much as you can about your parent's illness, current treatments, and its likely course.

Even If your elderly parents do not live close by, you are still concerned for their care. Make caregiving from a distance more manageable to ensure that your elderly parent is safe and well cared for.

Many family caregivers eventually realize that their aging loved ones are no longer fit to drive. If an elder refuses to stop driving and maintains that they’re still safe behind the wheel, you may need a backup plan for keeping them off the road.

End-of-life care decisions are often challenging and time-sensitive. Learning about how one can qualify for hospice and the specific services a hospice organization can provide will help minimize anxiety and confusion surrounding these important choices.

Sometimes the need for aids is immediately apparent, for example, in the case of a broken hip. Other times the need appears gradually. Be alert to the potential need for an assistive device, as seniors commonly try to downplay changes in their abilities.

Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) offer independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing care, memory care and rehabilitative services on a single campus to accommodate seniors as they age and their housing and health care needs change.

Evaluate your elderly parent's ability to age in place by conducting a thorough assessment to determine if they are physically and mentally able to continue living in their own home.

While independent home caregivers are often cheaper, hiring through an agency may be safer and more convenient for families.

Home care allows seniors with early- to mid-stage dementia to benefit from living in familiar surroundings until moving to a memory care community.

Assisted living provides residential care and help with daily tasks, but with home care, a senior can receive many of the same services without moving.

Home care costs an average of $4,957 a month, while nursing homes cost an average of $7,908 a month, though each option offers different services.

In-home care, adult day care, respite care, and home safety equipment are alternatives to assisted living that allow seniors to age in place safely.

End-stage dementia is characterized by a rapid loss of speech and mobility as well as systemic infections as the body begins to shut down completely.